Tybee Sand Not Turtle-Friendly

Researchers say Tybee Island's freshly renourished beach still needs work to ensure that federally-protected loggerhead sea turtles will nest there. The federal government spent $11 million pumping fresh sand onto Georgia's largest public beach last fall. But a turtle expert with the state Department of Natural Resources says the sand is too compact for finicky sea turtles to lay their eggs. The DNR's Mark Dodd says much of the beach needs to be tilled to make the sand soft enough for turtles before the nesting season starts in May. Tybee Island Mayor Jason Buelterman says the city will be happy to foot the bill - an estimated $10,000 or more - because officials often cited nesting turtles when lobbying Congress for the beach renourishment funds.

(Associated Press)

Tybee getting beach renourishment

Tybee Island’s beach is getting an 11-million dollar injection of new sand. The project headed by the Army Corps of Engineers is the first time since 2000 that the state’s largest public beach has been renourished with new sand to repair erosion. Tybee’s beach has been in dire need of help, with portions so eroded it has disappeared underwater during high tide. The Army Corps began the project last week by pumping sand from the ocean floor. Work will be complete sometime in January after around 120,000 truck loads of sand have been spread.

Army Corps pumping sand to renourish Tybee beach

Tybee Island beach and pier. (US Army Corps of Engineers)

The Army Corps of Engineers is giving Tybee Island's beach a fresh layer of sand - $11 million worth.

It's the first time since 2000 that Georgia's largest public beach has been renourished with new sand to repair erosion. Tybee Island needs it badly. Portions of the beach had eroded so much
that they vanished underwater at high tide.

The Army Corps began pumping sand from the ocean floor last week and spreading it onto the beach. About 120,000 dump truck loads of sand are needed overall. The work is scheduled to continue into January.

Officials waited to start the project until after the summer tourist season was over and rare sea turtles had finished nesting on Tybee Island.

(The Associated Press)

Click here for more GPB News coverage about Tybee Island.

Eroded Tybee beaches get a fix

Restoration of Tybee Island's badly eroded beaches will begin Oct. 1. The 90-day project will extend from Tybee's north jetty to another jetty on the south beach. A pipeline will route sand from about a mile and a half off the south end of the island. The pipeline will import a total 1.2 million cubic yards of sand.

Feds to Fix Tybee Island Erosion

The federal government is slated to spend more than $6.3 million dollars to fix erosion on Tybee Island beaches.

The damage was caused primarily by the dredging.in the nearly Savannah River shipping channel that leads into the city's harbor.

The Savannah harbor is one of the largest in the country, and few argue that the Army Corps of Engineers should suddenly stop clearing the channel that guides container ships to port. But critics say the domino-effect spending, which is ultimately directed by Congress, shows the dangers of trying to battle forces of nature.

The money to restore Tybee's beaches was in a massive spending bill that Congress sent to President Bush last week.

Click here for more GPB News coverage about Tybee Island and Savannah.

(The Associated Press)

'08 Tour de Georgia gets 5 new stops

Next year’s Tour de Georgia includes some new cities on the race course, but comes at the expense of other major stops from previous years.

The cycling event will have five new cities in the week-long race next April. Tybee Island will host the start, and is followed by newcomers Statesboro, Washington, Braselton, and Suwanee. Returning host cities include Atlanta, Augusta, and Brasstown Bald.

Cities left out for 2008 include Macon and Rome. Event director Chris Aronhalt says crafting the new route only had to do with letting residents in other communities share the Tour experience .

"It has nothing at all to do with the support. In fact the race would have loved to go back to those communities like Macon and Rome".

Tour organizers also had to be mindful of the route’s mileage, and incorporating mountain and coastal stages.

Aronhalt says the race expects to be financially healthy, with new headline sponsors to be announced at the start of the year.

State announces land conservation grants

Two Georgia cities are getting special state grants for land conservation.

Tybee Island is getting a $206,000 Georgia Land Conservation Grant. Chickamauga is getting a $365,000 grant and an $875,000 low-interest land conservation loan.

Tybee Island will use the money to buy 14 acres on the north end of the island that are mostly salt marsh wetlands and maritime stand forest habitats. Chickamauga will use the money to protect the Gordon Lee mansion and grounds that date to the 1840’s.

Fighting litter on Tybee Island

Tybee Island is stepping up efforts to reduce litter on the beach. Trash bag dispensers have been installed at public dune crossovers on the island. The Tybee Beautification Association received a grant from Keep Georgia Beautiful and extra help from local sponsors to install the 27 trash bag dispensers. Previously there were only free trash bags for cigarette butts.

Atlantic storm off the coast of Savannah

Three weeks before the Atlantic hurricane season officially starts, there is a first named storm of the season--Andrea. It’s churning about 135 miles southeast of Savannah right now, but forecasters think it won’t have much movement, and will fizzle-out over the next few days near the coast. Yesterday at Tybee Island, 5-foot waves and 26 mile per hour wind gusts were recorded.

It’s not expected there will be much relief from this storm in trying to help douse the wildfires in southeast Georgia and now parts of Florida.